A TOWN centre nursery which looks after more than 50 youngsters ‘compromises children’s safety’, according to its latest damning Ofsted report.
Sandpit Nursery, based on Pitt Street, Barnsley, is under the wing of 1st Safari Day Nurseries which has seven similar sites across the country.
At the time of Ofsted’s inspection in May, there were 53 children on its roll, aged up to ten.
Its report, published this week, states the grade handed to the nursery was ‘inadequate’ the worst of Ofsted’s four ratings.
It’s a sharp drop from when the site was rated ‘good’ at its last inspection in 2019.
The report said that children’s safety is compromised, adding: “The provider has failed to remove identified risks to children’s safety in the outdoor area.
“Staff deployment is poor which impacts on children’s care and learning across the nursery.
“Management do not make sure staff are allocated enough time to implement targeted interventions that will aid the learning and development of children in receipt of additional funding.
“Staff do not plan effective transition visits to ensure children are emotionally and developmentally ready for their next stage in education, especially for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
“Staff do not always know the children they are caring for due to staff deployment within rooms they do not normally work in.
“This impacts on children’s opportunities to build on what they already know and can do, to further extend their learning and make better progress.”
According to the report a ‘sharp, broken table’ was found at the site yet nothing was done when staff were notified.
“Despite having this highlighted by the inspector, no action was taken to remove or repair the table.
“This compromises children’s safety. The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.
“There is not an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first.”
The report highlighted some positives, praising the ‘warm welcome’ from ‘caring staff’.
“The manager and staff have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn at each age and stage of development.
“As part of the curriculum, staff support children to become independent in their self-care skills, such as serving their own meals, putting on their coats, washing their hands before eating and after personal care routines.”
A spokesperson for 1st Safari told the Chronicle: “It is with a heavy heart we report that unfortunately on May 10, Sandpit was inspected and received an inadequate judgement.
“Although 1st Safari has done everything to try and revise the report, unfortunately Ofsted has published it.
“1st Safari stands by Sandpit Nursery and the staff team. The grade aside, the report contains some lovely quotes that reflect the caring, hardworking staff we have that look after the children that attend every day.
“From all at 1st Safari, we are saddened that we couldn’t get a true reflection of the staff’s dedication and hard work. We look forward to a re-inspection in the next few months.”
Trevor Cave, cabinet spokesperson for children’s services, added: “Following this inspection outcome, we have been working with the setting to provide support in relation to the areas highlighted for improvement.”
